When he went on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Wednesday evening to promote upcoming film “The Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” the actor addressed his comments appearing as if he was on the verge of tears the entire time.

“I said some things that were poorly considered and once I had seen it in print I could see that it was offensive, insensitive, pernicious, and ill-informed,” said Oldman. “And words have meaning. They carry weight and they carry on long after you’ve said them. I don’t condone or excuse the words I used, well, in any context. I just basically shouldn’t have used them in any context but I did. And, I have deeply injured and wounded a great many people.”

“From my heart, I am profoundly sorry and deeply apologetic,” Oldman added. “I’m a public figure. I should be an example and an inspiration, and I’m an a-hole. I’m 56 and I should know better.”

Kimmel recognised that and told Oldman he understood what he was trying to get at in the Playboy interview.

“You were talking about people being hypocrites,” said Kimmel. “People love to jump up on their soap box and take shots at people for saying something when you know a lot of those people are saying certain — not all of them certainly — but a lot of them are.”

Kimmel followed up with what he called the “most awkward transition possible” by starting to speak about “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.” In that moment, it’s the first time in five minutes Oldman looked relaxed, first swallowing and blinking before cracking a smile and reaching out for Kimmel’s hand.